2026 World Cup, for the Chinese men's soccer team, may be their dream final stage. Looking back 20 years ago, the strength of the national football team can be said to be the best in Asia, if there are 8.5 seats in the Asian region, the Chinese team can almost certainly take. However, nearly a decade, the ranking and strength of the national football team continued to decline, is currently only located in the top ten ranks, even if the quota is sufficient, it is difficult to stand out.
However, it is worth mentioning that the Russian men's soccer team has recently announced that it will not qualify for this year's World Cup, which is undoubtedly an unexpected good news for the Chinese men's soccer team. In recent years, the Russian men's soccer team is actively seeking to join the AFC in order to qualify more easily, which is quite similar to the situation of the Australian men's soccer team today.
If the Russian men's soccer team can emerge in the Asian qualifiers, it will undoubtedly be a nightmare for the Chinese men's soccer team. Facing the strong Russian men's soccer team, China's road to promotion will be even more difficult.
As for the reason why the Russian men's soccer team did not qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, I believe that everyone has already had a good idea. It is worth mentioning that the Israeli men's soccer team was allowed to participate in the European qualifying rounds of the current World Cup, which also triggered a lively discussion among netizens.
The Russian men's soccer team's absence set an embarrassing record in nearly 100 years, becoming the first men's national team to announce its withdrawal from a World Cup qualifying stage in advance. Following the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Russian men's soccer team has missed two consecutive World Cups for special reasons.
Unlike the Asian qualifiers that have already taken place, the European qualifiers have yet to kick off. The draw for the European qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place on December 13, 2024 at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
The FIFA Men's World Rankings have been announced ahead of schedule, and the seeding of the 26 UEFA qualifiers and the program for the tournament have been confirmed at the FIFA World Cup. However, the Russian men's soccer team does not appear in the European qualifiers.
What are people's views on this issue?
